A new time for choosing: Reagan's lessons to Trump on RussiaThe Hill (blog)The yardstick for success can no longer be reaching consensus around a NATO table; it must be changing Russia's behavior. This will entail increasing the credibility of our threats and promises, and lessening our sensitivity to Russia's ... This means ...

A key U.S. Republican congressman who said this week he would not seek re-election or run for any other office next year now says he may leave Congress before his term in the House of Representatives runs out in early 2019. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, rose to prominence on Capitol Hill through his dogged investigations of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton before the 2016 election. Chaffetz made headlines Wednesday when he wrote on Facebook: "After long consultation with my family and prayerful consideration, I have decided I will not be a candidate for any office in 2018." He made his decision more specific Thursday, saying: "My future plans are not yet finalized, but I haven't ruled out the possibility of leaving [Congress] early." Chaffetz has been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor of Utah, or for one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. He did not mention those possibilities in announcing his decision to leave the political arena, just five months after his re-election to Congress for a fourth term. "Let me be clear I have no ulterior motives," Chaffetz wrote on Facebook. "I am healthy. I am confident I would continue to be re-elected by large margins. I have the full support of Speaker [Paul] Ryan to continue as chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee." Chaffetz was re-elected four times in one of the most Republican congressional districts in the country. However, he has been confronted with an unexpected challenge from Democratic newcomer Kathryn Allen. Allen raised more than a half-million dollars in the first three months of 2017, partly in reaction to Chaffetz's comment during the Capitol Hill debate on health care, when the Utah congressman suggested Americans of limited means should devote more of their income to buying health insurance, instead of purchasing expensive iPhones. As House Oversight chairman, Chaffetz also was strongly criticized by Democrats for saying he had no intention of investigating possible conflicts of interest between Trump's global business empire and his presidency. Before last year's election, Chaffetz had vowed he would investigate Clinton "for years" if she won the presidency over Trump. Chaffetz is at least the seventh House Republican this year to resign or announce retirement plans; those seven include four members who left to join Trump's Cabinet. In his public farewell on Facebook, Chaffetz did not close the door entirely on the possibility of another foray into politics: "After more than 1,500 nights away from my home, it is time. I may run again for public office, but not in 2018."

Former Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci told a court hearing Thursday that he could provide details of a political kickback scheme, which could threaten former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chances of running in the 2018 election. In the video of the hearing released Thursday, Palocci made the offer directly to Judge Sergio Moro, who has overseen a sweeping three-year-old corruption investigation, known as Operation Car Wash, that has upturned Brazilian politics. "I could immediately present all the facts, with names, addresses and operations carried out, things that will certainly be of interest to Car Wash," Palocci said in the video of the hearing. Operation Car Wash, named for a gas station in what began as a money laundering probe in the capital Brasilia, has uncovered a bribery scheme at the highest levels of Brazilian politics in return for contracts at state-run enterprises. Palocci, one of the closest advisers to Lula and former President Dilma Rousseff from 2003 to 2011, was jailed in September on charges he ran a bribery scheme funneling money to the Workers Party, which then ruled Brazil. Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported Tuesday, without citing sources, that Palocci met with investigators in recent weeks to discuss the terms of a possible plea bargain deal to give evidence against Lula and other party leaders. Palocci's lawyer could not be reached to comment. Several polls show Lula as the favorite in voting intentions for the 2018 presidential election, but he could be barred from running if sentenced for corruption. Lula already faces five court cases related to the investigations. Folha reported that plea bargain testimony from Palocci, once one of Brazil's most powerful politicians, could also widen the scope of investigations currently focused on engineering firms, to include banks and other corporations. Palocci, who has not commented on the Folha story about the plea bargain, said at the hearing that he believed his revelations could give investigators grist to widen the probe. "I believe I could open the way for what might be another year of work — but work that would be good for Brazil," Palocci said at the hearing.

The Justice Department investigation of Assange and WikiLeaks dates to at least 2010, when the site first gained wide attention for posting thousands of files stolen by the former US Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning.

Prosecutors have struggled with whether the First Amendment precluded the prosecution of Assange, but now believe they have found a way to move forward.

During President Barack Obama's administration, Attorney General Eric Holder and officials at the Justice Department determined it would be difficult to bring charges against Assange because WikiLeaks wasn't alone in publishing documents stolen by Manning. Several newspapers, including The New York Times, did as well. The investigation continued, but any possible charges were put on hold, according to US officials involved in the process then.

The US view of WikiLeaks and Assange began to change after investigators found what they believe was proof that WikiLeaks played an active role in helping Edward Snowden, a former NSA analyst, disclose a massive cache of classified documents.

Assange remains holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seeking to avoid an arrest warrant on rape charges in Sweden. In recent months, US officials had focused on the possibility that a new government in Ecuador would expel Assange and he could be arrested. But the left-leaning presidential candidate who won the recent election in the South American nation has promised to continue to harbor Assange.

Last week in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, CIA Director Mike Pompeo went further than any US government official in describing a role by WikiLeaks that went beyond First Amendment activity.

He said WikiLeaks "directed Chelsea Manning to intercept specific secret information, and it overwhelmingly focuses on the United States."

"It's time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: A non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia," Pompeo said.

US intelligence agencies have also determined that Russian intelligence used WikiLeaks to publish emails aimed at undermining the campaign of Hillary Clinton, as part of a broader operation to meddle in the US 2016 presidential election. Hackers working for Russian intelligence agencies stole thousands of emails from the Democratic National Committee and officials in the Clinton campaign and used intermediaries to pass along the documents to WikiLeaks, according to a public assessment by US intelligence agencies.

Still, the move could be viewed as political, since Assange is untouchable as long as he remains in the Ecuadorian embassy, and Ecuador has not changed its stance on Assange's extradition.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a news conference Thursday that Assange's arrest is a "priority."

"We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks," he said. "This is a matter that's gone beyond anything I'm aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious. So yes, it is a priority. We've already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail.

"We've had no communication with the Department of Justice and they have not indicated to me that they have brought any charges against Mr. Assange," said Assange's lawyer, Barry Pollack. "They've been unwilling to have any discussion at all, despite our repeated requests, that they let us know what Mr. Assange's status is in any pending investigations. There's no reason why Wikileaks should be treated differently from any other publisher."

Pollack said WikiLeaks is just like the Washington Post and the New York Times, which routinely publish stories based on classified information. WikiLeaks, he says, publishes information that is in "the public's interest to know not just about the United States but other governments around the world."

Assange has also compared WikiLeaks to a news media organization that uses documents provided by whistleblowers to expose the actions of governments and powerful corporations.

"Quite simply, our motive is identical to that claimed by the New York Times and The Post -- to publish newsworthy content," Assange wrote in

. "Consistent with the U.S. Constitution, we publish material that we can confirm to be true irrespective of whether sources came by that truth legally or have the right to release it to the media. And we strive to mitigate legitimate concerns, for example by using redaction to protect the identities of at-risk intelligence agents."

In his speech last week, Pompeo rejected that characterization and said Assange is afforded constitutional free speech protections.

"Julian Assange has no First Amendment freedoms. He's sitting in an Embassy in London. He's not a US citizen," Pompeo said.

"I do not see a (US) role in Libya," Trump said during a joint news conference Thursday, moments after Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni called the US role in the country "critical."

"I think the United States has right now enough roles," Trump said.

Trump was not wearing the earpiece that would have provided him with English translation when the Gentiloni in Italian characterized the US' role in Libya as "critical."

The US played a key role in the NATO bombing campaign that helped rebels oust Moammar Gadhafi, the Libyan leader, in 2011. Islamist extremist groups including ISIS have since gained a foothold in Libya as warring rebel factions continue to dispute governmental authority, and the US has carried out airstrikes against ISIS strongholds there.

Trump said he does "see a role in getting rid of ISIS," though it was unclear whether he believes that role should extend to Libya.

Trump's comments could signal a major shift in US foreign policy since the administration of President Barack Obama, which tried to foster a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between warring rebel factions.

Trump's comments on Libya likely came as a surprise to the Italian prime minister, who moments earlier stressed the need for international diplomacy to bolster the country's government based in the Libyan city of Tripoli and said the two men discussed stabilizing Libya.

"I believe that one clear goal should be this: We need the region and we need countries like Egypt and Tunisia that are close to Libya, we need a stable and unified Libya. A divided country in conflict would make stability worse," Gentiloni said. "The US role in this is critical."

Trump welcomed Gentiloni to the White House on Thursday for the first meeting between the two leaders and said he looked forward to traveling to Sicily next month for the first G-7 summit of his presidency, where leaders of the world's seven most developed economies will meet for rounds of powerhouse diplomacy.

In opening remarks, Trump recognized Italy as a key trading partner and ally in the fight against terrorism.

Trump noted Italy's military contributions to the fight against ISIS and the war in Afghanistan and said the two countries could partner to address "large-scale migration and international smuggling."

"Strong borders is a vital component," Trump said while alongside Gentiloni, whose country has been one of the most affected by the migrant crisis that has roiled Europe.

Trump and Gentiloni took questions from reporters following a brief Oval Office meeting and bilateral meeting between the two leaders and their respective delegations.

The two leaders also took to their podiums as reports surfaced of an attack that killed one police officer and wounded another in Paris.

Trump expressed "our condolences from our country to the people of France."

As of Trump's comments, French authorities had not concluded whether the attack in Paris was terrorism-related.

Trump's meeting with the third-largest Eurozone economy included economic and trade discussions as well as security issues.

Italy has been on the front lines of a migrant crisis that has stretched financial resources and wrought political turmoil across the European Union as millions of asylum-seekers and migrants have sought refuge in Europe.

Trump has repeatedly sought to draw connections between the uptick in the flow of refugees in Europe and the spate of terrorist attacks that have taken place in recent years, even when the culprits for those attacks were European-born. And while Europe has sought solutions to accommodate the uptick in refugees, Trump has sought to close the US' borders to refugees, particularly those from Syria, arguing that they could be a "Trojan horse."

Italy is also a member of the NATO military alliance and a partner in the US-led anti-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria -- a fight that Trump has sought to ramp up in his quest to destroy the terrorist group, as he promised on the campaign trail.

Paris police have closed the Champs Elysees after a shooting incident.Paris police have closed the Champs Elysees after a shooting incident. (Reuters)

PARIS — A gunman opened fire on French police Thursday on a renowned Paris boulevard, killing one and wounding two others before being fatally shot himself in an incident that shook France just three days before a crucial election.

The French Interior Ministry, confirming the shooting, said two police officers were “seriously wounded” and that security forces gunned down the attacker. The ministry said the person fired on a police car. Two officials said the gunman used an assault rifle.

French news media, citing the Islamic State-affiliated Amaq news agency, reported that the terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was carried out by a Belgian national identified only as Abu Yusuf. It was not immediately possible to confirm that the Islamic State was behind the shooting.

A spokeswoman for the Paris police, Johanna Primevert, said the gunman attacked police guarding an area near the Franklin Roosevelt metro station Thursday night at the center of the heavily traveled Champs-Elysees avenue, the Associated Press reported.

She said the attacker appeared to act alone, but other officials said it was too soon to say whether he might have had an accomplice.

The Reuters news agency reported that police issued an arrest warrant for a second suspect who they said had arrived in France by train from Belgium.

A European security official told The Washington Post that the dead attacker was known to French intelligence, having previously come authorities’ attention for radical Islamist links.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told France’s BFM television that the gunman got out of a car that pulled up beside a police vehicle and opened fire on the police officers. The attacker then took off running and was shot to death, Brandet said.

In Washington, President Trump said during a news conference with the visiting Italian prime minister that the Paris shooting “looks like another terrorist attack,” and he offered s condolences to France.

“Again it’s happening, it seems,” Trump said. “I just saw it as I was walking in. . . . That’s a very, very terrible thing that’s going on in the world today. But it looks like another terrorist attack. And what can you say? It just never ends. We have to be strong and we have to be vigilant, and I’ve been saying it for a long time.”

The incident occurred three days before France holds the first round of a presidential election. The country has been hit by a deadly wave of terrorist violence in the last two years that has claimed the lives of at least 230 people, with hundreds more injured.

The shooting — on the most famous boulevard in the French capital, always crowded with tourists and commuters — sent pedestrians fleeing into side streets, witnesses said. Police blocked people from approaching the scene and ordered tourists back into their hotels as they sealed off the area.

The attack came just two days after authorities arrested two men in the southern city of Marseille on suspicion of plotting what Paris prosecutors described as an “imminent” and “violent” assault. Police discovered an Islamic State flag and three kilograms of explosives in one of the men’s homes.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for previous attacks in France, including a coordinated November 2015 terrorist assault on multiple targets in Paris that left 130 people dead and more than 360 wounded.

After that attack and others in the last two years — many perpetrated by Islamic State militants or those claiming to be inspired by the extremist group — terrorism and national security remain crucial issues in the most contentious election France has seen in decades.

The leader of the far-right National Front party, Marine Le Pen, has campaigned heavily on an anti-immigrant platform and what she has couched as the need to defend France from “Islamist globalization.” In the final days of the campaign, she said she would halt immigration altogether if elected president.

The shooting occurred in the middle of a televised campaign event, when each of the 11 current candidates was given 15 minutes to sell voters on their respective platforms.

The Paris police department promptly shut down the boulevard and advised pedestrians and commuters to avoid the Champs-Elysees, citing an ongoing operation.

At least three metro stations were closed, the Interior Ministry said.

There was no immediate information on the identities of the attacker or the policemen who were shot.

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According to Christophe Crépin, a spokesman for the UNSA Police Union, the gunman opened fire on the police with an AK-47 assault rifle, targeting officers who were near a Marks and Spencer store on the corner of the busy avenue. Crépin said one man carried out the attack but that others could have been involved.

"The art installation at UAA that has sparked recent concern and debate has people asking whether a public university should be home to controversial, or even offensive, ideas," University of Alaska President Jim Johnson wrote in an email. "A vital and vibrant university, regardless of the campus, must be a place of ideas, opinion, and debate."

The painting shows Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, naked and holding Trump's head in his left hand and a sign in his right. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is shown wrapped around Evans' leg.

University Chancellor Tom Case said the painting has "sparked spirited discussions," but that freedom of expression is fundamental to the university's mission.

"We understand that some may not support this exhibit, but universities — including UAA — are a place for free exchange of ideas, diversity of thoughts and of opinions, and ideally, a place for conversation to occur around our differences and similarities," Case said in a written statement.

As Fox News is forced to reassess its role in American political life, it might ask the question, is this White House about Trump or about the movement he stands for, call it Trumpism? There's a difference. It's the same question millions of voters who supported Donald Trump will soon want the answer to.

For the past couple of decades Fox News has dominated the American cable landscape by successfully combining a coherent conservative ideology with top quality television visuals. The political ideology is talked about a lot and was driven by one man, Roger Ailes who became founding CEO of the channel in 1996. His talent for TV is mentioned less often.

This piece is not about the sexual harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly or Fox's role in putting women in overly sexual roles on air - that's the dark side of Roger Ailes' knack for producing seductive TV.

When I praise Fox's visuals, I'm thinking of the graphics, the maps, the movement, the speed with which they get video up on air and the relentless determination to make sure the screen didn't look dull, even for a single moment.

The network was revolutionary. Yes, Fox could be lampooned for being too whiz-bang, but don't fool yourself, every other TV producer looked at what Mr Ailes was doing back in the 1990s and they were awestruck. They quickly followed suit as far as their own budgets allowed. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Now Fox faces a different challenge, how to respond to the man in the White House, and the answer to that lies in the broader determination of what this presidency is really about.

Donald Trump was elected to be a champion of the "forgotten men and women" of America. That was his populist promise. He would revive their economic fortunes and return power to the people.

To do so, he promised to be tough on the countries that had stolen those jobs - primarily China. It was a "currency manipulator", he railed, which "raped" America, didn't play fair and should be slapped with 40% tariffs.

In the old steel mill towns of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and even Wisconsin, they nodded with relief. Finally here was someone who said what they had been thinking for years. It was time to get bearish on Beijing. That's a pretty good example of Trumpism.

Candidate Trump ignored the wise old foreign policy hands who said that this strategy was unrealistic and that it would alienate China's co-operation on other issues, namely North Korea. With the arch-populist Steve Bannon whispering in his ear, Mr Trump continued to say what the people wanted to hear, he promised not to be afraid of anyone, not to compromise on their beliefs and always to put America first. The slogans won him the White House.

But once he actually got into the Oval Office and sat behind that historic desk, two things happened to undermine that commitment. First, Mr Trump realised that the world was a lot more complicated than he'd taken time as a candidate to learn. The old hands were right, he did need China to help deal with Kim Jong-un and he wouldn't get that help if he slapped them with tariffs or started a currency war. Second, his approval ratings fell, dramatically.

Although Mr Trump has seen a recent uptick in his poll numbers in the past couple of weeks, he is still at historic lows. This was embarrassing to a man who routinely spent a lot of time in his campaign speeches touting his impressive poll numbers. It was also embarrassing to his family.

The Trumps have built their brand on success. Failure was not a popular option in the family. Inside the White House, the president's daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared, realise that for Mr Trump to succeed, Trumpism may have to go. Or at least, be substantially sidelined. The two liberal, cosmopolitan New York Democrats had never been particularly wedded to the hellfire-and-brimstone vision of America that Steve Bannon described in the lines of Mr Trump's inaugural address. Neither of them are natural working-class populists.

As they both formally expanded their roles and their presence in their father's administration, a shift occurred away from protecting the ideology to protecting the man. The risk for Mr Trump is that these policy shifts - on China, the Export Import bank, the currency, Nato - risk disappointing his base.

The latest polls show Mr Trump scoring very badly on questions like "shares my values" or "cares about people like me". Many of these people really want Mr Trump to deliver on his campaign promises, not abandon them.

This is where Fox News comes in. Fox did well out of the Trump campaign. It was firmly in the president's camp and his frequent interviews with the network helped drive ratings which helped drive ad revenue. Throughout the Obama years, Fox was the insurgent network of opposition. Now it needs a new role.

It can be a mouthpiece of the Trump administration (though supporting the government doesn't make for the most gripping cable TV.) Or Fox can stick to its conservative roots and champion Trumpism, even when the man himself does not.

Russia should join NATO: the benefits for the Global Security are enormous

To reformulate Lord Ismay's phrase: 1) Take Russia in, 2) Continue keeping Germany down, 3) Assert and exercise the US leadership position within the NATO as a unifying and directing force and vector.

"Ловец Человеков"

Connected? The halo is there. And the Book is there. And the disciples are there. But where is the Light of Understanding, in this big curved dark tunnel of a vision? Where is the big red dot? Where is the new beginning?

Russia and US Presidential Elections of 2016 - Google News

Russia international behavior - Google News

RUSSIA and THE WEST

russia ukraine - Google News

West, Russia, Putin

US - Russia relations - Google News

Hillary Clinton and rock group Pussy Riot

"Great to meet the strong & brave young women from #PussyRiot, who refuse to let their voices be silenced in #Russia. 1:09 PM - 4 Apr 2014" - Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton tweeted a picture Friday of her posing with members of the anti-Vladimir Putin punk rock group Pussy Riot. Clinton met with the women during the "Women in the World Summit" in New York. The group has emerged as chief opponents of Putin, and three members were jailed in 2012 after an anti-Putin performance at a church. The tweet has been re-tweeted almost 10,000 times.